Foreign investors are taking a more cautious position in Nigeria’s equities market as political uncertainty and attractive fixed income yields continue to influence investment decisions.
Trading data for the first seven months of 2026 showed that foreign investors accounted for N1.29 trillion, representing just 10.8 per cent of total transactions on the Nigerian Exchange.
Domestic investors accounted for the lion’s share of the trading volume as of N10.6 trillion or 89.2 per cent. Overall turnover almost doubled to N11.98 trillion from N6.01 trillion recorded in the same period last year.
The News Chronicle reports that institutional investors grew by 145 per cent to N6.7 trillion while the retail segment more than doubled to N3.4 trillion.
Inflows to the country’s markets from foreign investors stood at N513.3 billion against N779.4 billion outflows registering a negative net flow of N266.07 billion.
Analysts attributed the development to high political uncertainty in the country coupled with high rates and attractive yields on local fixed income products.
With N treasury bills and other government securities offering attractive yields, investors are rotating into cash and away from equities.
The trend is likely to continue as Nigeria approaches the 2027 elections when investors are expected to seek more clarity on the country’s economic policies and direction of the naira.
